


I want to hold your hand

by ohsomanylovelywords



Series: Fruits Basket Fan Club [1]
Category: Fruits Basket, Fruits Basket (Anime 2019), Fruits Basket - Takaya Natsuki (Manga)
Genre: And really needs to start drinking water, Because Yuki is kind of a fuck boy, Explicit Language, F/M, Manga Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-12-01 23:13:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20930123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohsomanylovelywords/pseuds/ohsomanylovelywords
Summary: Basically, Yuki needs to drink more water and they both just really want to hold each other’s hands.This is a very belated birthday fic for Adi (FaintBlueIvy on Tumblr and Ao3). I met her in the fruits basket fanfic friends :) discord. She wrote a super cute Yuchi fic, so check that out if you haven’t already. She’s also frequently reminding us to stay hydrated.I tried to reference as many discord memes about Yuki as possible (i.e., Yuki refuses to drink water, Yuki is kind of a fuck boy, Machi knows Yuki ain’t shit, and Yuki loves that about her).





	I want to hold your hand

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FaintBlueIvy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaintBlueIvy/gifts).

> This is also part of my ongoing project to appreciate all of the amazing Fruits Basket creators (fanfic writers, artists, meta writers, gif makers, meme generators, etc.) by writing drabbles based on each person’s URL, favorite ships, and/or fan creations.

When Yuki entered the student council office, Machi was already there, her body slumped over a desk and her face buried in the crook of her arm. Not wanting to wake her, Yuki stood silently against the open door. It was rare for him to see her with her guard down.

He observed her as she slept. Her hair cascaded down her shoulders and one of her hands hung loosely off the side of the desk. He wanted to hold her hand again. It had been less than a week since exchanging gifts at the train station, but with Tohru in the hospital and student council duties and finals, they hadn’t had a moment alone. He wondered what she was dreaming about… 

Lost in his own thoughts, he didn’t notice Kakeru had joined him by the door. “Hey, Yuki, what are you staring at?” Yuki slapped a hand over Kakeru's mouth and gestured emphatically to Machi, who fortunately hadn’t stirred.

Kakeru put on a sheepish smile but continued his teasing. “Wait, why does Machi get special treatment? You never let me sleep on the job.”

Yuki just gave him a look. He didn’t have the energy to list off the countless times Kakeru had been sleeping, playing games on his phone, or texting his girlfriend when he was supposed to be working. He was great with people, but not so much with paying attention.

“Nao has the flu. Kimi and you were supposed to be here 10 minutes ago.”

“Fine, fine,” Kakeru acquiesced, putting his hands in the air. “But I’m in charge of snacks!”

Yuki looked at his watch. The meeting was only supposed to last 30 minutes, and they would already be starting late. He glanced at Machi.

“Should we ask Machi what she wants?” He didn’t see why they even needed snacks, but at least he could learn more about what Machi liked. 

“Machi! Hey, Machi! I’m getting snacks, what do you want?” So loud. Yuki hit Kakeru with his clipboard.

Machi groaned, her only response a rude hand gesture.

Kakeru rubbed his head. “What? You said you wanted to start the meeting, right?”

Machi yawned and arched her back, stretching her arms above her head.

“So, what do you want, Yuki?” He was staring at her hands again.  _ What do I want? _

“Machi,” Yuki said, without hesitation. At that, Machi finally opened her eyes to stare wide-eyed at him, and Kakeru raised an eyebrow. “Erm, I mean, coffee. I want a coffee.”

Gratefully, their conversation was interrupted by Ariana Grande singing “break up with your girlfriend, I’m bored.” It was unmistakably Kimi’s ringtone.

“Kimi!” Kakeru walked backwards out of the room, but not before casting a remarkably unsubtle wink at Yuki.

They were finally alone. After an unbearable 10 seconds of silence, they both started speaking at the same time. “So, how are you...”

“President, you should really...” 

“Sorry, what?”

“Nothing, never mind.” Machi wasn’t looking at him. It was as if she’d said it to the floor.

Yuki tilted his head to look at her face, patiently waiting for her to finish her thought. 

Staring at a crack in the tiled floor, Machi allowed the imperfection to settle her nerves. Then, she returned his gaze and repeated herself. “Just, I noticed you’ve been drinking a lot of coffee lately, but you should really be drinking more water. At least 2 liters a day.”

So, she had been thinking about him too?

Yuki was struck again with the desire to touch her. He reached out to hold her hand, but before he could, the whirlwind that was Kimi entered the room, and Machi sprang back… 

* * *

When they were finally freed from student council responsibilities and the (literal and figurative) curse of family obligations, there was only one thing standing between Yuki and Machi. The Japanese university entrance exams.

Yuki and Kakeru had been holed up in the library for the past two days. Machi was restless with the desire to see him again, to touch him again. Trying to force herself back to sleep, she hugged her pillow and imagined it was him. After a few minutes of unsuccessful rest, she heard her phone buzz from somewhere underneath her. She groped blindly, eventually unearthing it from her blankets and sheets to view the notification.

“Hey, you up?” It was a text from Yuki.

M: Yeah?

Y: Can I come over? 

Y: Need to study

Y: And get out of this house

Y: Too many fucking distractions

Machi had visited a few times, so she could picture the scene pretty easily. She imagined Shigure was pestering him with long and rambling stories about his high school days, so his office was out of the question. Kyo and Tohru were probably too wrapped up in each other to notice anyone else might need to use the living room. And Yuki’s bedroom was likely in a similar state of disorder to hers.

M: Yeah ok

Rolling out of bed, Machi assessed the current state of her room. It was certainly better than the last time he’d visited, but there were still notebooks from studying for finals, stray bottles of nail polish, mismatched cups, snack food wrappers, multiple water bottles, empty take-out containers, various objects she had accumulated from thrift stores but never put away, and last week’s clothes scattered around her room. She ended up stuffing most of her things under the bed. Except Mogeta and that stupid fucking red leaf, which she hid in one of her dresser drawers. He would never let her live that down.

A half-hour later, Yuki arrived at her apartment, but when she opened the door, he was out of breath and clutching his chest.

Before she could ask him what was wrong, his body went slack and he fell forward, nearly landing on top of her. “Yuki? Hey! Yuki!”

Fortunately, her bed had already been cleared off, so she dragged him onto it, wrapped him in blankets, and hurriedly looked for anything she had that might help. After fussing over him for a few more minutes, she plopped down on the floor to observe him as he slept.

He really looked nothing like a prince. He had dark under-eye circles and dry, chapped lips from stress and lack of sleep. His protruding veins were visible signs of dehydration, like faint blue ivy crawling up his arm. Machi followed them until her eyes settled on his hand. 

The thought came into her head suddenly.  _ Damn, I just really want to hold his hand. _

At just that moment, Yuki opened his eyes and saw her watching him. Blushing furiously, Machi turned away from him.

“Wait, no come back.” He grabbed her arm and smiled. “You look so cute when you’re blushing.”

Her blush undiminished, Machi rolled her eyes and evaded the comment. “And you look like someone who almost died from lack of hydration.” She still wasn’t looking at him.

“Machi?” She stared at his hand, still grasping her arm.

“Thanks for taking care of me,” Yuki said, sliding his hand into hers.

Despite her frustration with him, Machi let out a contented sigh. “Just stop working yourself so hard. I was really worried about you.”

He surveyed the room. “Yeah, I can tell.” 

“I wasn’t sure what you needed…” Not only was Yuki cocooned in multiple blankets, but she had also assembled a collection of potential medical supplies, including a box of bandaids, allergy medication, aspirin, and a bag of frozen broccoli (to serve as a make-shift ice pack). But most impressive was the assortment of water receptacles, including 4 cups, 3 water bottles, 2 mugs, a flower vase, and a cereal bowl.

Yuki took the cup closest to him and chugged it before smiling down at Machi and patting her head gratefully.

“You must be tired.” She shook her head but was betrayed by an ill-timed yawn.

“Come here,” he said, shifting to give her some space.  She crawled into bed and fit her body against his. 

Yuki played absently with her hair until she finally turned around to face him.

“If you die of dehydration because you refuse to just fucking drink water, I’m going to kill you.”

“I know,” Yuki said, seriously, before kissing the scowl off her face.


End file.
